Until Now
by rockythehufflepuff
Summary: Fred needed someone to test the Extendable Ears for him. Thankfully, Granger had arrived that afternoon and was currently having a late night conversation with Ginny. Turns out overhearing other people's conversations is rude. Especially when one of them is confessing a crush on a certain Weasley boy. (I own nothing.)
1. Chapter 1: The Price of Extendable Ears

Fred Weasley, in his modest opinion, had a brilliant idea. No, no, _all_ of his ideas were brilliant. _This _was positively inspired. He was not sure he could ever thank Harry enough for giving him and George his winnings from the Triwizard Tournament. No, they would be able to pay for the materials they needed for their inventions. And this one was going to be perfect.

His idea was simple. He wanted to make a product that allowed a person to listen to other people's conversations. It would be extremely helpful when it came time for the Order meetings. It really was not fair. They were allowed to be in Grimmauld place, but they could not participate in the Order. Well, yet. Once Fred and George were finished with Hogwarts, they were going to start their business and join the Order. It was torture to wait.

Of course, he did not fully consider the possible outcomes of testing his product on Ginny and Hermione Granger.

Granger appeared at 12 Grimmauld Place the day Fred and George finished what they were calling Extendable Ears. She tripped out of the Floo network, a disgruntled look plastered to her face. She would have fallen to the floor had Fred not been there to catch her. She mumbled a "thank you" before she scurried off with Ron.

Fred did not think too much of it as he and George were more concerned with finding an unwilling audience to test their product on. So, naturally, they slid the ear beside Ginny's door that night, not expecting what they were going to hear.

"...Like I said," they heard Hermione saying, "just move on. Or, make it look like you're moving on. Harry hates hero worship–"

"That's not why I like him!" Ginny exclaimed.

"I know, I know," Hermione continued. "But that's how it looks to him. He only sees you as Ron's little sister, who's liked him for four years. You can't even speak in front of him. If you let him get to know you, I know he'd like you in an instant." Ginny did not say anything for a moment. Fred and George glanced at one another. Neither of them cared to think of Ginny dating.

"Michael Corner _did_ ask me out at the end of last term."

"What," Fred and George said together, anger surging through both of them. Fred did not know who this Michael Corner was, but he was certain he was not good enough for Ginny.

"The Ravenclaw?" Hermione returned. "He's cute. Why did you reject him?"

"Harry."

"He still likes Cho Chang," Hermione replied. Fred and George could hear Ginny sigh audibly. Why _didn't_ Harry like Ginny? She was the best, in Fred's completely unbiased opinion. Maybe Potter was just oblivious to good things in his life.

It was silent for a moment. Had they decided to go to bed? Did Granger return to her ever growing pile of literature?

"Well, enough about me," Ginny finally continued. Ginny's voice took on a playful tone. "Do you still fancy me brother?"

Fred and George smirked at one another. Fred had always suspected that Granger like Ron. And now, she was finally going to admit it aloud.

"I don't see why we need to talk about that," Hermione muttered bashfully. "Nothing's ever going to come of it."

"You don't know that," Ginny returned. "I saw the way he was looking at you at the Yule Ball. Well, how _everyone_ was looking at you at the Yule Ball."

Fred understood what his sister meant. Granger looked utterly beautiful the night of the Yule Ball. He had not paid much attention to his brother, but Ginny was probably right. It had probably taken until that night for Ron to realize that Granger was a woman. He knew that the night had not ended well for Hermione. When he finally made his way back to Gryffindor Tower with Angelina, he had found Hemrione sitting in front of the fire crying.

He sat silently with her for a few minutes, letting her cry it out. When the tears eventually died out, he told her that Ron was nothing more than a git, that he should have noticed how spectacular she looked, instead of ranting about Viktor Krum. "He's just jealous that Krum got to spend the night with you, instead of him," Fred had told her. She blushed a little at that. She muttered a thanks before climbing the stairs to the Girl's Dormitories.

"You're exaggerating," Hermione stated. "He was too busy with Angelina to notice me." Fred froze and glanced at George, whose eyes widened. Granger was talking about him. "He was really sweet when he sat with me though." He felt his heart beat faster in his chest. They must have heard wrong.

"Well, I think you two would be perfect together," Ginny was saying. "You're so...uptight. You need someone to teach you to relax and have fun. And he's...well, the opposite. He needs someone to teach him maturity."

"Yes, that's the foundation of every great relationship," Hermione said with a hint of sarcasm. "You're forgetting that he doesn't like me."

"Well, then, Fred's an idiot. All of my brothers are idiots. That's nothing new." Hermione chuckled a little.

"I really don't think anything's going to come of it, Ginny," Hermione said. "Fred and I are just too different. Besides, this is his final year at Hogwarts. He'll be too focused on his studies to think of me." At that, Ginny burst into laughter, as though that had been the funniest thing she ever heard. Fred and George were laughing a little as well. They thinking about their studies? Did Granger not know them at all? "Alright, he'll be too focused on his pranks to notice me, better?"

"Much. Honestly, I'm not sure Fred and George are even going back to Hogwarts to finish school. I think they just want to finish testing their products. And Mum would probably kill them if they didn't go back to school."

Hermione sighed. There was a momentary pause before Granger continued. "Did you hear about Lavender and Seamus?"

"Is that still going on? I thought that was over now…"

George pulled the ear back to them, ending their eavesdropping. Fred was staring at the wall in confusion. Why did Hermione like him? When had this started? He had never even considered Granger before. She had always been his little brother's annoying, bookworm friend. He had never thought about her that way.

George cleared his throat and said, "Well, at least we know that it works." George was frowning at Fred now "What are you going to do, Freddie?"

"Nothing," he answered. "Absolutely nothing, George."

* * *

Hermione Granger knew better than to tell Harry and Ron about her fancying Fred. Harry would not know what to do with the information and Ron would sicken at the thought of liking one of his brothers. Besides, she knew that Fred Weasley saw her as nothing more than his little brother's friend. She decided that the best course of action was to ignore her feelings until they went away. And with the O.W.L.s coming up, she could not afford any distractions.

Hermione could pinpoint the exact moment that changed the way she saw Fred Weasley. It was on the Hogwarts Express at the beginning of her fourth year. Malfoy called her a "mudblood" again, and Fred hexed him for it. "You're going to get into trouble," she had told him pointedly. "We're not even at Hogwarts yet." He just shrugged.

"He deserved it," Fred returned, his eyes full of mischief. She never noticed how utterly dazzling those brown eyes were until that moment. He just gave her a smile and walked down to the compartment George and Lee had already chosen.

Hermione shook her head, told herself that she was being silly, and wandered back to the compartment she was sharing with Ron and Harry.

For the following months, Hermione told herself that her feelings for him was just a silly crush that would eventually go away. Well, that was until the night of the Yule Ball. She could not understand why Ron was being so rude to her just because she went with Viktor Krum. Fred had sat with her and it was then that her feelings for the prankster solidified.

"Why does he have to ruin everything?" she said when the tears finally subsided.

"Ron's just a git, Granger," Fred answered her calmly. "He missed the obvious, like how great you look tonight. He should have noticed that instead of you walking in with his idol. And anyway, he probably still wants Krum's autograph." Hermione smiled a little at that. He was probably right about that. "He's just jealous."

She stared at Fred for a moment. She had never seen this side of him before. All he ever did was tell jokes. She had not known this side of him existed. It made him altogether more attractive to her. The thought made her blush slightly. "Thank you, Fred." Before she could possibly embarrass herself more in front of him, she stole away to the Girl's Dormitories.

She had not meant to tell Ginny about her liking Fred. It was Ginny who had cornered her after the Second Task, demanding the details of what had passed between her and Krum. It did not matter that Hermione did not care for Viktor that way, she had still ben placed in the middle of the lake.

So, Hermione explained what happened at the Yule Ball, that she and Viktor had a pleasant time, which was ruined by Ron. "I don't really care for Viktor more than as a friend," she admitted.

"I'm sorry Ron was a git," Ginny told her. "We've all learned to live with it."

"I'm almost thankful," Hermione found herself saying. Naturally, Ginny questioned her further about it, causing Hermione to explain her feelings for Fred. Ginny was speechless for a few minutes before a smile spread across her face.

"I always assumed you'd end up with Ron," Ginny stated, "but I like this so much more! And Fred's an idiot if he doesn't like you back!"

Apparently, Fred was an idiot.

She rarely spoke to him in the remaining months at school. And when she did, he always seemed to end up insulting her thoughts on house-elf slavery. She knew nothing would ever come from her feelings, but this didn't dissuade her from having them.

Now, Ginny was trying to get her hopes up again. "I saw the way he was looking at you at the Yule Ball." Hermione had to shake her head at that. She knew how Fred felt about her. Everything Ginny said just raised her hopes, which Fred would crush.

"You're exaggerating," Hermione answered. "He was too busy with Angelina to notice me." Ginny opened her mouth to refute so Hermione quickly continued. "Which is how it should be. She's gorgeous."

"He and Angelina wouldn't last very long, they have the same opinions about everything. And, well, I think you two would be perfect together. You're...uptight." Hermione frowned, wondering where Ginny was going with this. "You need someone to teach you to relax and have fun! And he's...well, the opposite. He needs someone to teach him maturity."

"Yes, the foundation of every great relationship. You're forgetting that he doesn't like me." Hermione did not mean for that to sound so pitiful. She meant it as fact. She knew how flirtatious the Weasley twins could be. So, the more she reminded herself of this, the better off she would be. "I really don't think anything's going to come of it, Ginny. Fred and I are just too different. Besides, this is his final year at Hogwarts. He'll be too focused on his studies to think of me." Hermione could have sworn she heard laughter down the hall when she said this. Chuckling a little, she amended, "Alright, he'll be too focused on his pranks to notice me. Better?"

"Much. Honestly, I'm not even sure Fred and George are even going back to finish their education. They just want to finish testing their products."

Hermione sighed, those products were amazing. She really did not understand how they got so few O.W.L.s. If they just applied themselves to school, they could have gone far. But Hermione knew it was not in their nature. She decided it was best to change the subject. "Did you hear about Lavender and Seamus?"

Ginny groaned. "Is that still going on? I thought that was over now. They're so awkward together."

"Parvati told me before we left that Seamus invited Lavender to his house for a week this summer." Ginny snorted.

"I wonder if she actually made it out there or if they broke up before that." Hermione laughed a little at that. She really did not understand what possessed the two of them to start dating in the first place.

Ginny and Hermione talked for a little while longer before slipping into their respective beds.

But for some reason, Hermione could not sleep. She was thinking about Harry at the Dursleys. He probably hated it there, was probably hurt that he did not know what was going on. She wished she could explain it to him, she really did. She tossed and turned for a few minutes before finally decided she needed a cup of tea.

Grabbing one of the many books she brought with her, she plodded down to the kitchen.

Apparently, she was not the only one who could not sleep. It was not long after she settled down to her book that Fred appeared, a determined look on his face. At first, he did not even realize that Hermione was sitting in the kitchen reading and idly drinking her tea. "Water's still warm," Hermione commented. He tensed a little and turned to look at her.

"Thanks," he muttered, before glancing back at what he was doing. He grabbed two mugs, gently pouring the tea into them.

There were dark circles under his eyes. Ginny said something about Mrs. Weasley forcing her children to clean Grimmauld Place. Did Fred and George stay up late to finish what they could not make during the day?

Hermione scrambled for something to say. It was unusual for her to be speechless. She could ask about their products, but she knew she would inevitably tell him that it was wrong to break the rules. Rules were in place for a reason, it was not right to go around spreading chaos to the school. On the other hand, many of their inventions were amazing and hearing of their pranks did cause her to laugh on occasion.

"Can't sleep?" she heard him say. He was not looking at her, his gaze transfixed on the tea. She shook her head.

"I was thinking about Harry," she admitted. "And this house creaks." Fred nodded. "What are you doing up? Working on your products?" Fred smirked and finally met her gaze.

"Mum has us running all over the house, we have to work on them sometimes. Goes faster now that we can use magic" Fred took the seat across from her and drank from one of the mugs. "George and I would be apart of the Order, but they keep telling us we're too young."

"I agree with them. We're all too young," she stated. Fred shook his head but had an amused smile on his face. "It could be dangerous!"

"Of course you think that," Fred returned. "Granger, have you even gone an entire year at Hogwarts without breaking the rules?" She frowned and thought for a moment. First year, she broke curfew dozens of times. Second year, she brewed Polyjuice Potion. Third year, she used her Time Turner to save an innocent man. And fourth year...well. She captured Rita Skeeter in a jar and blackmailed her into being nice to Harry. She blushed a little at the realization.

"I suppose not. I would like to hear what the Order is planning. Ginny said that you lot haven't been allowed to listen to the meetings." Fred took a long sip from his tea. "Do you have anything that could possibly help us listen to their conversations?" Fred started choking at that.

"We may have something like that," he finally forced out between his coughs. Hermione thought for a moment. She knew it was wrong, she just really wanted to know what the Order was talking about in their meetings. "Granger, there's something I want to talk to you about." She raised an eyebrow at him. He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly and refused to meet her eyes.

"What is it?"

He took a deep breath and glanced at her with a nervous expression. "Listen, I think you're a great friend to Ron and Harry. They really don't deserve your friendship." Hermioen was frowning, wondering where he was going with this. "And I'd like to think that we're friends, right?" She nodded a little. "And George and I really just see you as part of the family, the only Weasley without red hair." He smiled a little at her. She deflated. This was why she did not want Ginny getting her hopes up. Fred saw her as nothing more than her little brother's best friend. She was just another sibling to them.

"Fred, I–"

"Granger, I really think I should say this. You're like a sister to me and George. And–" The door to the kitchen swung open. Standing there with an amused look on his face was George.

"I was wondering where my tea was, but I see now that you were just distracted." George sent a wink to his brother.

"Fred was just telling me that the two of you think of me as family," Hermione stated calmly. George let out a laugh.

"It's a little early for that Freddie, the girl's only sixteen."

"That's not what I meant–" Fred tried to say.

"He said you two thought of me as your sister," Hermione clarified through her growing blush.

"Well, I do," continued George, a smirk still on his face. Fred's ears were a little red.

Just as she was about to ask what was going on, they heard movement from the floor above them. They did need to be more quiet if they didn't want Mrs. Weasley finding them out of bed. "I better go," she told them quietly, scooping her unread book up as she stood up. But George had other plans for her.

"So, you'll be helping us then?" George asked. Hermione was nearly certain that smirk was plastered to his face. Apparently, he had no other expression.

"Helping you with what?"

"I just assumed Fred was asking you to help us with our products. After all, you are family."

"George–" Fred was saying.

"He's having a really hard time getting the love potions right." Hermione's eyes widened a fraction in surprise. Was Fred really going to ask her for help?

"George–" Fred tried to interrupt again.

"And we know, Granger, that you happen to be the brightest witch in your year. Probably in Hogwarts, too. Possibly the entire world." Hermione grinned a little. She raked her brain, but she did not think George had ever complimented her before. "We could really benefit from your expertise."

Hermione glanced at Fred, who again, was determinedly not looking at her in the eyes. She did not agree with skiving class or pranking other people, but if she were to help them, that would mean she could spend more time with Fred. The though made her heart beat a little faster in the chest. With a smile, she said, "I suppose I could help you."

A giant smile spread across George's face. "Perfect. Good night, then, Granger."

"Good night, George. Good night, Fred."

"Night." With that, Hermione turned and plodded her way back to Ginny's room. She certainly was not going to be getting any sleep now.


	2. Chapter 2: Great Plans, Poor Execution

Fred would not say it aloud that he was a coward, but George was right. He was one. He avoided Granger like she had Dragon Pox. He just honestly did not know what to say to her. Every time he looked at her, he was reminded of the conversation he overhead. He even tried to tell her that he thought of her as nothing more than a sister, but then George appeared and made his life a thousand times harder.

It was obvious to him that Ron like Granger, he just did not know what to do about it. And, because of that, he had to be careful in dealing with the girl. Of course, girls had fancied Fred and George before. After all, they were incredibly handsome (Fred more so, of course) and girls rather like the rebellious streak they had. He turned a few of them down gently, others he took to Hogsmeade with him. He had never been in a serious relationship before. And, somehow, this all seemed different than before. Before, he could escape the girls who liked him. But this was Hermione Granger. She would always be around, especially when she came to her senses and realized she was in love with Ron, not him. He could not hurt her. But he did not want to date her either.

Fred wished he and George had not tested their product on Granger. How was he supposed to interact with her now? Every time he saw her, he half expected her to profess her undying love for him at any moment. And there were no words to respond to her if that happened.

But the most infuriating part of it all was that she acted normally. She acted as though nothing had happened at all. She talked with Ron, gossiped with Ginny, spoke out against house-elf slavery after she met Kreacher. It was frustrating.

Especially when she appeared to help with their products, like she told George she would. She gave her divine opinion like a nice little know-it-all, completely focused on the product and not on Fred. Not that Fred wanted her to be focused on him, he just wanted some sort of a reaction from her. The woman was utterly infuriating.

Once, when Fred, Hermione, and George were working on the Fainting Fancies, Hermione asked again if they had a product that would allow a person to listen to someone else's conversation. George burst into laughter. "Yes, Granger," he chuckled, "we do. Though we should warn you, sometimes listening to other people's conversations can have unforeseen consequences." George sent a knowing smirk at Fred.

"There's another meeting tomorrow," Fred stated. "We can use it then."

And that was exactly what they did. They learned that some of the Order members were watching known Death Eaters, others were recruiting, and all of them were taking shifts watching Harry and something hidden in the Ministry of Magic.

After the meeting, as they headed up to their rooms, Hermione said to Fred, "Those really are incredible." She gestured to the Extendable Ear. "You both are brilliant."

Fred frowned at her. "Who are you and what have you done with Hermione Granger?" Granger chuckled a little.

"Just think what you could accomplish if you were dedicated to your studies–"

"Ah, there's Granger," Fred muttered. Hermione rolled her eyes and entered Ginny's room without a second glance.

The next day, Harry Potter performed a Patronus Charm in the presence of a Muggle. He was coming to Grimmauld Place before his trial.

Fred and George, in all honesty, were not worried about harry. The Boy Who Lived had this uncanny ability of getting away with things others normally would not. And really, Harry probably had a good reason for doing this.

No, everyone else was worried about Harry. Their siblings and Granger made it nearly impossible to work on their products because of their worry. Ginny was the first one to storm into Fred and George's room, nearly demanding they do something other than sit around their room. "Not much else we can do," George murmured, his voice displaying the annoyance in him. Then, Hermione and Ron entered, arguing again about what they could do to help Harry's predicament. The answer was simple: nothing. Harry would be brought to Grimmauld Place. Other than this, nothing could be done.

"He'll be fine," Fred told them. "Now, unless you'd all like to test the Nosebleed Nougats for us–"

"–Kindly bugger off," George finished. Ron and Ginny huffed their annoyance.

"We came here to tell you there's a meeting starting in a few minutes," Hermione stated. "We were hoping we could use your products to listen."

As far as Order meeting went, the Extendable Ears were wasted. All they were able to hear was talk about bringing Harry to Grimmauld Place. They were just talking about shifts at the Ministry of Magic when Mrs. Weasley found the Extendable Ear.

After a rather long lecture about the four of them being too young to participate in the Order, Fred and George returned to their room in petulance. They quickly hid the half dozen other Extendable Ears they had made. Knowing their mother, she would be by later to ensure they would not be trying to listen to the Order meetings again.

In the end, Fred and George were right about Harry. The Boy Who Lived was cleared of his charges and would be returning to Hogwarts with them in September. In the meantime, Mrs. Weasley was doing everything she could to fill their days while cleaning Grimmauld Place.

One day, to ensure that cleaning would happen effectively, Mrs. Weasley separated Harry, Ron, and Hermione as well as Fred and George. Fred was trapped in a room with Hermione Granger for an hour alone while George and Harry, and Ginny and Ron was cleaning in other rooms in the house.

Neither of them said anything for a little while, just cleaned in silence. Fred rather preferred this. He needed to make sure that Grainger would stop liking him and transfer her feelings for Fred to his little, less appealing brother, Ron. "Are you and George still looking to own a joke shop?" she asked tentatively. Why couldn't the woman just let them clean in silence? He was trying to do her a favor by ignoring her.

"Erm, yeah," he answered. "We've been looking at properties in Diagon Alley."

"You have money for it already?" Hermione's voice reverberated with surprise and, for some reason, that irritated him.

"We are capable of making money, Granger."

"I-I just meant that I'm surprised. Since Bagman stole all your money last year." He glanced over to where she was peeling the ancient wallpaper from the wall. He wished he didn't understand her reasoning. She wanted to know where they were getting the money from where they had bet their entire life savings, only to have Bagman never pay them what they were owed.

"Don't worry your little prefect head about it," he said. "We haven't done anything illegal if that's what you're thinking." A blush crept onto her face and she immediately turned back to her work.

"I'm not a prefect," she murmured.

"Not yet," Fred returned. "George and I think you're certain to get it." She smiled a little. Of course, the bookworm actually wanted to be a prefect.

Silence fell on them again.

And this time, neither of them broke the silence. By the end of the week, Fred was proven right. Hermione would become a prefect.

Fred could easily tell that this year would be different from all other years at Hogwarts. The ride of the Hogwarts Express alone was indicative of this. Fred and George got in an argument with a seventh year Slytherin over whether or not Harry was telling the truth about You-Know-Who. This year was going to be hard, for all of them, especially Harry.

In addition, Fred assumed that once school started, his little Granger problem would go away. He would not have to see her as much and he could avoid her more easily. Then, she would realize that all this time, she and Ron were supposed to be together.

However, it was not until they were listening to the Sorting Hat's terrifying song that Fred realized the problem. Ron was a massive pig. Granger had probably fallen for Fred in the first place because of his brilliance and undeniable good looks. Naturally, Ronald did not stand a chance in comparison. And, what was Ron doing to encourage Hermione's affections towards him? Nothing. He was acting as though everything was perfect and fine in the world. The poor git did not realize that his girl was borderline in love with his older brother. Fred was just going to have to help his little brother out.

"Ow kunnit skusin danger ifzat?" Ron asked Nearly Headless Nick, his mouth stuffed to the brim with food.

"I beg your pardon?" Nick returned, disgust showing on his face.

"How can it know if the school's in danger if it's a hat?" Yes, Ron needed Fred's help. Ron was basically spewing food as he talked. No, Granger would like someone more...civilized. The longer Fred observed his brother and his friends, the more he noticed about Ron's tactless personality. Ron did not care for Hermione's S.P.E.W. ideas and he rarely noticed when he was putting his foot in his mouth when he talked to her.

Fred pondered this, forming plans in his mind. He would do this service for Ron. He would help his little brother capture Granger's attention, so Fred would not have to worry about it anymore.

Fred was staring at them too long though. Ginny elbowed granger and gestured to where Fred was sitting, staring at her. The moment Granger's eyes met Fred's, he looked away. The last thing he needed was for Granger to think he liked her.

George was shaking with laughter beside him, the git.

The next morning, Hemrione showed Fred that even though she liked him, she was still going to reprimand him like the good little prefect she strove to be. It all started out fine, Fred supposed. He and George sauntered over to where Harry, rOn, and Hermione were sitting at the Gryffindor table.

"...I wish Fred and George'd hurry up and get those Skiving Snackboxes sorted…" Ron was saying. Fred smirked as he and George sat down.

"Do my ears deceive me?" Fred questioned. "Hogwarts prefects surely don't wish to skive off lessons?"

"Look what we've got today!" Ron shoved his schedule in Fred's face. That was something else they were going to have to work on. "That's the worst Monday I've ever seen."

"Fair point, little bro," Fred stated, examining Ron's schedule. Binns, Snape, Trelawney, and Umbridge all in one day. "You can have a bit of Nosebleed Nougat cheap if you like."

"Why's it cheap?" Fred was proud Ron knew to ask that.

"Because you'll bleed till you shrivel up," answered George, "we haven't got an antidote yet."

"I think I'll take the lessons," said Ron sadly.

"And speaking of your Skiving Snackboxes," interjected Hermione, "you can't advertise for testers on the Gryffindor notice board."

"Says who?" George said, outrage playing in his voice.

"Says me," Hermione answered. "And Ron."

"Leave me out of it," Ron told her hastily. Fred nearly rolled his eyes. This was another thing that Fred was going to have to teach his little brother. Always take your woman's side when she's arguing with someone else. Anything less was begging for trouble. Hermione glared at Ron.

"You'll be signing a different tune soon enough, Granger," Fred murmured. "You're starting your fifth year, you'll be begging us for a Snackbox before long."

"And why would starting fifth year mean I want a Skiving Snackbox?" Hermione wanted to know. _Because it's me selling them_, Fred almost told her with a flirtatious glance. But he knew that would get them nowhere. He was glad when George answered instead of him.

"Fifth year's O.W.L. year."

"So?"

"So, you've got your exams coming up, haven't you? They'll be keeping your noses so hard to that grindstone, they'll be rubbed raw," added Fred.

"Half our year had minor breakdowns coming up to O.W.L.s. Tears and tantrums...Patricia Stimpson kept coming over faint…" And if Fred knew anything about Hermione Granger, it was that she was going to take these tests too seriously. It was nearly going to kill her, all the studying and pressure. It was a good thing that she had Fred and George there to help her.

It was not until later that day that Fred was able to talk to Ron alone. And by alone, George was there too. George had found all of this to be absolutely hysterical. He was still making jokes about Hermione liking him. It was extremely annoying. Granger was in the library and Harry was called into McGonagall's office after what he had said during Umbridge's class. If they wanted to say this, now would be the time. "We've decided to help you, little bro." Fred sat down beside him.

"Well, this is mostly Fred's doing," George muttered, sitting on the other side of their brother. Ron's face was scrunched into confusion when he saw them. Whenever they had done remotely like this in the past, he was usually pranked by them or they were going to ask him to distract their mum while they set up a prank. Either way, it never ended well for him.

"What are you up to?" Ron asked suspiciously.

"You see, Ronniekins," continued Fred, "if you want her to like you, you're going to have to stop shoveling food into your mouth during meals–"

"–stop talking with your mouth full–"

"–be interested in what she's talking about–"

"–stand up for her side no matter what–"

"–and compliment her," finished Fred. Ron's ears went red with embarrassment.

"You two know about that?" Fred and George glanced at one another. Fred knew that he liked Granger.

"It's obvious, Ronniekins," Fred replied. Fred did not know Ron's ears could turn any redder, but he was quickly proven wrong. Ron would not meet their eyes.

"Now, take notes," George continued, "we're going to teach you how to talk to women."

"You're welcome," they said together. Ron raised an eyebrow, a suspicious glance still plaguing his face.

"Why are you helping me exactly?" Fred was almost proud of Ron for questioning their motives.

"Ron, we can't stand to see you like this. If you're going to embarrass yourself, you're going to need to change your name to something other than Weasley." Ron glared at them.

"Come on, get a piece of parchment," George urged. "You can show Harry these notes when he's done with his detention."

"We just assumed he's going to need to know this, too," Fred admitted. With a sigh, Ron pulled a piece of parchment and quill out from his bag. With a wave, he motioned them to begin.

* * *

"You will never guess what happened!" exclaimed Ginny.

"Harry asked you out?" Hermione muttered with slight annoyance. She was a little disgruntled that Ginny was interrupting her time in the library. She needed to complete the homework they were given in their classes that day. In addition, she wanted to read more of that book that Umbridge was adamant about. She had not been able to finish it before school started, the school lists coming out later than usual and Harry's drama distracting her too much. She wondered, originally, why they were reading a book on the theory of Defense Against the Dark Arts, instead of one on its practical use. After meeting Umbridge, it all made sense.

"No, but I did overhear my brothers talking in the Common Room."

"Which ones?" Hermione questioned absently.

"All of them. Well, all of them that are still at Hogwarts. Fred and George were giving Ron advice on girls." Hermioen's eyes snapped up to Ginny's, a frown covering her face.

"You can't be serious."

"I am!" Hermione frowned, wondering what led to this conversation. She had known since the middle of the summer about Ron fancying Lavender Brown. He confessed it one day when they were cleaning Grimmauld Place. This was just after Ginny came in with the news that Seamus and Lavender had broken up again. Hermione encouraged him to act on his feelings, but the Gryffindor was being a coward about the whole thing. Truth be told, Ron could certainly benefit form help by Fred and George. The man had the emotional range of a teaspoon.

"You don't suppose they're still talking to him about this?" Hermione questioned. Ginny smirked at her and pulled out one of the Extendable Ears from her pocket. Hermione looked at her expectantly.

"This is the one Mum confiscated over the summer. It wasn't too hard to steal from her." With an exasperated shake of her head, Hermione gathered her books together, and followed Ginny back to the Gryffindor Common Room, promising herself that once they listened to the conversation, she would return to her studies. Besides, she wanted to ask Harry about his conversation with McGonagall.

Fred, George, and Ron moved their conversation to Fred and George's dormitories. Quietly, Hermione and Ginny slid the ear under the dorm, quickly hiding behind a corner. "...take Ginny, for example," they heard Fred say. "She cares about house elves. Instead of insulting her interests, you would…?" Fred stopped talking, like he expected Ron to finish the thought. It was quiet for a moment.

"Ask her about spew?" guessed Ron finally. Hermione silently fumed. It was S.P.E.W., not spew. And why were they even talking about her when Ron liked Lavender? She heard a sigh.

"And listen while she's talking about it," Fred added. "And it's not spew, it's S.P.E.W., she's told you a thousand times." A smile broke out on Hermione's face subconsciously. Fred was right about listening to another person's interests. She had all but given up hope that Fred and George would support her ideas. This proved he was listening to her.

"Fine," Ron said, "but what if I don't know what her interests are?"

"You ask," George said. Hermione heard the faint sound of a quill scratching parchment. Was Ron writing this down?

"They also like it when you compliment them," Fred stated after a moment. The quill scratched the parchment once more.

"On what?"

"Merlin, you're dense," stated George. "Anything really. Their eyes, their hair, clothes, face."

"Compliment her on her school work too," Fred included as an afterthought. "She likes to feel smart." Hermione frowned. She had never thought Lavender was dense, but she wasn't terribly smart. Perhaps, that's why fred thought she wanted to be told she was smart. It would make her feel special. When Ginny said that they were giving Ron advice on girls, Hermione was seriously questioning their wisdom on the matter. But, they clearly knew what they were talking about.

Before they could hear anymore, they heard someone walking up the steps to the Boys' Dormitories. Quickly, Ginny retracted the Extendable Ear, shoving it into her pocket. They huddled against the wall. The first door in the corridor opened and closed. Ginny and Hermione took a deep breath and crept back down the stairs. Just as well, Hermione decided, she had homework she needed to finish.

Later that night, after Fred, George, and Ron returned to the Common Room, Hermione watched carefully as Fred, George, and Lee gave first years their products. Hermione frowned. She simply could not stand for this. She told them earlier that morning that they could not test their products on first years.

Harry just sat down with them and explained that he still had detention with Umbridge later. Hemrione was not surprised. She knew McGonagall wouldn't overturn the detention. Even the teachers needed to be weary of the Ministry official. McGonagall told Harry exactly what Hermione had. Nothing good would come from angering Umbridge, no matter how right Harry was.

When Harry sat down with her and Ron, Ron quickly handed him a piece of parchment, promising to finish explaining later. She was fully intending to ask him about it, just to see his reaction, when Fred and George caught her eye. It didn't matter how much she fancied Fred, she simply could not let this continue.

"No, I'm sorry, they've gone too far," she said, standing up. "Come on, Ron."

"I–what?" Ron said, looking extremely reluctant about what was to transpire. "No–come on, Hermione–we can't tell them off for giving out sweets..."

"You know perfectly well that those are bits of Nosebleed Nougat or–or Puking Pastilles–or–"

"Fainting Fancies?" supplied Harry quietly, Hermione glanced over to where Harry was looking. One by one, the first years were slumping unconscious in their seats. A few of them slid right onto the floor, others fell over the arms of their chairs, their tongues hanging out of their mouths. Most people watching this burst into laughter at the sight. But not Hermione. She squared her shoulders and marched determinedly over to Fred and George.

"That's enough!" she said forcefully to Fred and George. They looked back at her with mild surprise.

"Yeah, you're right," George answered with a nod. "This dosage looks strong enough, doesn't it?"

"I told you this morning, you can't test your rubbish on students!"

"We're paying them!" Fred shot back indignantly.

"I don't care, it could be dangerous!"

"Rubbish," Fred muttered.

"Calm down, Hermione," interjected Lee, "they're fine."

"Yeah, look, they're coming around now," George said. Lee plopped purple sweets into the first years' mouths. A few of them stirred. Most looked confused.

George turned to a small girl with dark hair. "Feel alright?" he asked.

"I–I think so," the girl replied.

"Excellent," Fred said happily. Hermione was outraged. If she didn't stop this now, everyone was going to assume they could walk over her. She was a prefect; that meant something to her. She needed to assert her authority, but she knew Fred and george would never just listen to her. Instinctively, Hermione grabbed the bag of Fainting Fancies from Fred's hand.

"It is NOT excellent."

"'Course it is," replied Fred, anger etched into his voice, "they're alive, aren't they?"

"You can't do this! What if you had made one of them ill?"

"We're not going to make them ill, we're already tested them all on ourselves, this is just to see if everyone reacts the same–"

"If you don't stop doing it, I'm going to–"

"Put us in detention?" mocked Fred.

"Make us write lines?" added George with a smirk. Annoyance grew in Hermione. She straightened.

"No, but I will write your mother."

"You wouldn't," George said horrified.

"Oh yes, I would." She took a deep breath. "I can't stop you eating the stupid things yourselves, but you're not giving them to first years." Fred and George stared at her thunderstruck. Her point made, Hermione returned to her seat beside Harry and Ron.

Over the next few days, it became apparent that this year was going to be much more difficult than the previous years. In addition to doing her homework and studying for the O.W.L.s, Hermione also started knitting hats and scarves for the house-elves. She began hiding them around the Gryffindor Common Room, hoping to free them. Surely, they were all like Dobby and wanted to be freed.

Ron, indeed, seemed to be taking Fred and George's words to heart. He started being more attentive to Lavender, asking her about her day, her interests, even complimenting her. She nearly thanked Fred when he entered the Common Room one day for helping Ron. His love life was one less thing he and Harry would complain about her.

Following the Gryffindor tryouts on the first Friday of the term, there was a party being held in honor of the team. Ron had tried out for Keeper, and she was more than happy that he received the position. She was just so tired. She had wanted to leave early, but Harry fled quickly after entering, claiming he was tired. She supposed it was, having had detention every night that week. Although, she didn't see what was so tiring about writing lines. Wanting to be there for Ron, Hermione was determined to stay at the party a little bit longer.

Unfortunately, she must have fallen asleep, as a few hours later, a gentle tapping woke her. The party had disappeared leaving only the concerned eyes of Fred Weasley. Embarrassed, she quickly sat up, accidentally hitting the cup of tea that was sitting precariously on the arm of the chair. Fred rushed to catch it before it fell to the ground. Fred set the cup on a table. "Party's over, Granger," he said. "You might want to sleep in your bed. Probably more comfortable than the chair." Hermione chuckled softly as she stood up.

"You're right. Thanks, Fred." She was nearly to the steps of the Girls' Dormitories when Fred called her name. She glanced back to find him holding up one of the hats she had knitted and hidden carefully under the chair.

"You're hiding these now," he said, annoyance plastered on his face.

"It's for the–"

"Granger," Fred interrupted, "we've told a dozen times. They like working. They like serving."

"Because they're brainwashed!" she returned in outrage. She should have known better than to hope that Fred would ever support her on this. "This is slavery!"

"No, this is you thinking you know better than everyone else," he spat back. "Hiding these here is just going to make it so that none of them want to clean in here! When that happens, are you going to clean the Tower?"

"They wanted to be freed–" Hermione tried to begin, but he cut her off again.

"Merlin, Granger! You can't base your entire cause on one house-elf that Harry met second year!"

"I'm not! I've been to the kitchens–"

"Then you'd know that they like things the way they are." Hermione stepped forward and ripped the hat from his hands, carefully placing it back he had found it.

"You don't have to agree with me about this. But I thought you understood." She didn't look back at him as she plodded up the stairs to the Girls' Dormitories, seriously wondering what had just happened.


	3. Chapter 3: The Best Laid Plans

Fred Weasley was angry with Hermione Granger. He did not understand it at all. Here, he was trying to do her a favor by making his brother more appealing and there she stood, saying she was going to write his mother if he kept testing on first years. And he believed her, too.

He just could not understand it. Hermione told Ginny that she liked Fred. George was a witness to this and annoyingly reminded Fred of it nearly every time they saw Granger. But she did not act like she fancied Fred. In fact, she was maddeningly normal about the whole thing. He did not expect her to throw herself at his feet, declaring her undying love, he just expected...something.

Yet, Granger remained the same annoying bookworm she always had been. And, since nothing changed, Fred began to question whether or not she had been telling the truth.

Fred knew Granger well enough to know that the witch essentially knew everything. It would not be completely inconceivable to wonder if she knew he and George were listening to their conversation. If she had known, and told Ginny, it would be in Ginny's nature to mess with him and George because of it. And the more Fred thought about it, the more certain he was that Granger lied to him. She even mentioned an eavesdropping device later that week so that they could listen to the Order meetings.

When he mentioned this to George, his brother simply laughed in his face, telling Fred that he was mad.

During the party, Fred watched her out of the corner of his eye. He noticed that she was nearly falling asleep in the chair. He strode over to her, telling her she should just go to bed. "Want to be there for Ron," she said with a yawn. Despite his frustration with her, he was astounded by her loyalty to her friends. He took the seat beside her, launching into a humorous tale of the time he and George made it so that McGonagall's rooms would change colors every time she said, "Fred," "George," or "Weasley." But when he glanced up, Granger was sleeping soundly.

Fred waited until everyone left before waking Hermione. He had not meant to shout at her, it just happened. Once she disappeared to the girls' dormitories, a feeling of guilt crept up on him. He honestly never felt more like Ron than at that moment. He certainly never put his foot that far into his mouth before.

When it came to holding a grudge, Hermione knew what she was doing. She refused to speak to Fred unless she was reprimanding him for his pranks, and she acted like the perfect prefect they all knew her to be. Because of Hemrione, Fred and George began testing their products on willing participants in places they knew Hermione could not catch them. Primarily the boys' dormitories. Fred chose to think of this time away from Granger as a gift. He wanted her to stop fancying him and that was exactly what he got.

This continued into October until Hermione appeared in front of them at the Gryffindor table, inviting Fred and George to a meeting at the Hog's Head on Saturday during the Hogsmeade visit She did not tell them much about her idea, but she did mention that Umbridge wasn't going to like it. Fred and George immediately said they would be there. "Prefect Granger going against a teacher?" mocked Fred with a smirk. Hermione shrugged.

"She's hardly a teacher." Fred certainly agreed with that.

Fred had to admit, especially after attending the meeting at the Hog's Head, that Hermione was brilliant. Fred and Geroge were determined to join the Order the moment they were eligible. But, they needed to be prepared, and this was something that clearly was not happening under Umbridge. You-Know-Who was very much alive and a war was coming. They needed to know how to defend themselves. And fred couldn't imagine a better teacher than Harry Potter, the Boy Who Didn't Die.

And when they found the Room of Requirement, Fred and George spent the majority of the time shooting various spells at Zacharias Smith. To Fred and George, this was a simple justice The Hufflepuff was obnoxious, always questioning Harry's authority. Harry just smiled and told them to stop, but Granger looked at Fred like she was resoundingly disappointed in him.

Fred chose to ignore her.

It did not escape Fred's notice, though, that Ron was practicing the spells with Lavender Brown. That did not make any sense to him. If Ron liked Hermione, why wasn't he using the tactics Fred and George taught him on Granger? Fred only had to observe Ron for a few minutes to see that Ron was listening intently to what Lavender was saying. He even helped her with her wand movement.

"George," Fred murmured, "did Ron ever actually tell us that he liked Granger?" George pried his eyes away from Angelina for a moment to look at Ron George started laughing.

"Looks like your plan backfired, mate." Fred sighed in defeat. Well, at least Ron learned something about conversing with women.

The next plan that came to Fred's mind took a little less of his time. He chose to spend his time actively avoiding Granger. Out of sight, out of mind, as they say. She would be so focused on her work that the feelings she had for Fred would slowly disappear. And Fred was not sure he was convinced of her feelings to begin with. This way, he could focus on more important things. Like working on his and George's products. And Quidditch, this was his last year playing Quidditch, he was certain it was going to be the best.

Of course, this came crashing down after the match against Slytherin. Fred had never been so angry with Malfoy than in that moment. He wished he could have landed a blow on Malfoy like George and Harry. And did Malfoy get punished? No. All he got was a few lines while Fred, George, and Harry had to hand in their brooms. He hated Umbridge, he hated Malfoy. Really, he just hated how different this year was.

* * *

Hermione did not know what to say. She learned quickly that telling her friends, "It's just Quidditch," only made them more irritable. And even though Fred insulted the S.P.E.W., she wanted to be there for him. He hadn't even touch Malfoy, but he lost his ability to play Quidditch his last year of Hogwarts. It just didn't seem fair.

She just didn't know how to help him right now. She didn't know how to be these for him. She could suggest focusing on his studies, but this was Fred Weasley. She even considered loaning him some books. But again, this was Fred Weasley. She needed something to comfort him that he would enjoy,which meant books and school were left out of the equation.

Retribution, though. This might be something he would enjoy. He'd do just about anything to get back at Umbridge and Malfoy. Of course, he would want to prank them. Even the thought of it made Hermione sick. But she wanted Fred to feel better. She could break the rules, just once, for Fred Weasley. Still, it took her another half hour of contemplation before she finally stood up and began her planning.

Above all else, she wanted it to be a surprise. She had Ginny help her because Ginny would have better moment she told Ginny, though, the girl stared at her in surprise and confusion. "Who are you, and what have you done with Hermione Granger?"

"I just want justice to be served," Hermione replied. Ginny watched her with uncertainty.

"But to be sure, tell me something only Hermione would know." Hermione stared at Ginny for a moment before realizing Ginny was just joking. Regardless, Hermione told the story of how Ginny actually got the nickname, Hermione told the story of how Ginny actually got the nickname, "Gin," from Fred and George. Most people thought it was a shortened version of the name, but it actually came from her brothers, when they found gin one night at their Aunt Muriel's. Ginny laughed at the memory. "Alright, I'll help you. But mostly because I want to see Hermione Granger prank someone."

It was the end of November when Hermione's plan came together. It took her and Ginny forever to get the spell right, but on one cold Wednesday morning, they gave people what they wanted. In the middle of the Great Hall, dozens of Snitches rose to the ceiling, circulating the room. Naturally, all the students stopped what they were doing to watch. Some of the students tried to grab the little golden objects while it zoomed above their heads. Interestingly, everyone was able to capture the Snitch except for Draco Malfoy and Dolores Umbridge.

Ginny and Hermione watched as Malfoy tried to grab the Snitch out of the sky over and over again. Harry caught their gaze, bursting into laughter when he saw Malfoy's vain attempts. "How'd he ever become Seeker?" George wanted to know, taking a seat beside Hermione while Fred plopped down across from them.

"Did you do this?" Ron asked, glancing at Fred and George. Hermione and Ginny suppressed the grins that tried to form on their faces.

"Wish we could say it was," muttered Fred. Finally, Umbridge had enough of the Snitches. She raised her wand, trying to Vanish them. When the Vanishing spell hit them, every single Snitch surrounded Umbridge and exploded into a massive cloud, which promptly began raining on the woman.

Hermione smiled as the Great Hall burst into laughter as Umbridge tried in vain to get rid of the rain. When she hit it with another Vanishing spell, a cloud appeared over Malfoy's head, drenching him in a rainstorm.

"You sure you didn't do this?" Lee Jordan asked Fred and George. The twins shrugged.

"Really wish it was," George replied.

"Wonder who it was," Fred added. "Utter geniuses, they are."

And Hermione Granger was seen to be smiling all day long.


	4. Chapter 4: Love Potion Number 9

"You sure you don't want to try it," Fred asked his brother. George shook his head.

"Go right ahead, Freddie," George replied with an amused smirk. "It's your turn, after all." That was true. They took turns testing the products they made. It was Fred's turn. He just had to take the potion and wait for George to give him the antidote.

"Who's hair did you use?" Fred questioned. George shrugged.

"Dunno. I found a hair on the sofa. Reckoned it would be more fun this way." Fred wasn't too sure about that. "Stop stalling. Just take the potion."

With a glare sent in George's direction, Fred help up the potion and downed it. At first, it felt like nothing happened. But then his thought shifted to none other than Hermione Granger. Fred sat down beside George on the bed, tugging a pillow close to him. He wasn't sure why he needed a pillow, it was just comforting. And really, he needed comforting because Gra–Hermioen wasn't around right now. He missed his Hermione.

"Did it work?" George asked cautiously.

"Did what work?" Fred returned, a dazed expression plastered across his face.

"Are you thinking about Granger? I tried to grab her hair." Fred's attention snapped to George instantly.

"Do you know where she is?" Fred eagerly wanted to know. George thought for a moment.

"What are you willing to give for that bit of information?"

"Anything, George. Anything!" Fred had jumped to his feet, preparing to give everything he owned to his brother.

"Should have made this deal with someone else," George muttered, mostly to himself. "Not sure there's anything you have that I want..."

"Georgie..." whined Fred, who had started to grow impatient. He needed to see Hermione as soon as possible. He just needed to be around her. "Please tell me where she is. I'll do anything. Please. I-I think I'm in love with her." George frowned, considering. Originally, he had thought it would be hysterical to watch Fred make a fool of himself for Granger. But as Fred said he loved her, George was struck by how callous he was being towards Granger. She actually had feelings for him. It just wasn't fair. Unfortunately, he had lied about making the antidote.

"Erm...I don't know where she is, Freddie," George said gently. "I was only joking."

"I better go find her," Fred said with resolution. "I have to tell her how I feel." Fred started for the door.

"Wait!" George shouted. "What if...erm...what if I bring her here? And you could surprise her?" A dreamy smile passed Fred's lips. George felt unnerved by the sight. He'd never seen Fred like this before.

"You'd do that for me, Georgie?" George nodded. "You've always been a great brother to me." George decided he was definitely going to brew an antidote next time.

"Yeah, just remember that when you come to," George mumbled before leaving Fred alone in the dormitory.

In retrospect, George's plan to wait it out would have worked. He would have returned from the loo, saying Hermione was on her way, she just had to finish something first. They would have sat there for two hours and then the potion would have worn off. It would have worked. George just forgot to account for one thing: Lee Jordan.

Lee entered the dormitory and frowned. Fred was sitting on George's bed looking out the window at the moon. The moment Lee opened the doom, Fred shot to his feet, noticeably deflating when it was just Lee and not Hermione. With a sigh, Fred returned to the spot on George's bed. "You alright, mate?" Lee asked Fred shrugged, refusing to glance away from the window.

"I'm waiting for George," Fred stated. "He went to go find Hermione."

"I just saw her," Lee told him absentminded. "She in the Common Room talking to Harry and Ron." Before Lee had even finished the sentence, Fred had leapt to his feet, tackled Lee with a hug, muttered a "thank you," and raced out of the room, leaving a very confused Lee Jordan behind.

Lee had been correct. The moment Fred entered the Common Room, his eyes fell on Hermione Granger who was sitting on the sofa, studiously working on her schoolwork. Harry and Ron were sitting at the table playing chess. Quickly, Fred strode over to where Hermione was.

Hermione glanced up from her book to find Fred staring at her. "Fred?" she said in surprise.

"Hi, Hermione," he replied, looking at her like he couldn't believe someone as amazing as her was talking to him. Well, there's what he was thinking. Fred sat down beside her.

"Did you need something?" Hermione questioned. Quickly, Fred shook his head.

"Do you? I'd do anything for you, Hermione." Her eyes widened, her breathing eradicated.

"Anything?" Fred nodded, reaching forward and taking her hand in his own.

"I love you, Hermione Granger."

* * *

A thousand different thoughts exploded inside Hermione's head. This couldn't possibly be happening. Fred didn't even like her. But, then, why was he sitting beside her, holding her hand, and telling her that he loved her? It simply didn't make any sense. Perhaps, she was dreaming. She'd probably fallen asleep, again, on the sofa and this was all a dream. A quick pinch told her that she was definitely not dreaming. Then, what exactly was happening?

"Y-you love me?" Hermione replied. He nodded earnestly. "You mean as a sister?" She recalled the conversation they had during the summer. He'd told her he thought of her only as a sister. She shouldn't get her hopes up. He was probably going to tell her she was just like Ginny any second now.

But Fred was showing his head.

"No!" he proclaimed loudly. Hermione quickly shushed him, not wanting to have this conversation in front of all of Gryffindor House. Resolutely, Hermione shut her book and threw it into her bag.

"Come with me," she told him. She swung her bag to her shoulder, but it disappeared a moment later as Fred took it for her. She gave him a grateful smile and led the way out of the Common Room towards the library.

Fred followed her like a faithful puppy, listing all the things he loved about her. It made her heart flutter, but also mad certain something was wrong with Fred Weasley. She pulled him into an empty classroom. He looked at her hopefully. "You love me," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "And you suddenly felt the need to tell me this because...?"

"Because I need you to know. I want us to be together. I know you like me, too. George and I overheard you say so to Ginny during the summer."

She stared at him, sudden with understanding. This is why Fred had been avoiding her. He'd known the truth this whole time. She put this out of her head for now. She had enough time to wallow in her self-pity and humiliation when she figured out why Fred was acting this way.

"Right," she said. "And what were you doing before you told me this? Were you and George working on a product or something?" Fred nodded. "What exactly were you working on?" Fred took a step towards her, twisting her hair around his fingers.

"A love potion. I've been inspired lately." He winked at her.

"Please stop touching my hair," Hermione ordered. Immediately, he stopped, dropping his hand as though it had been burned. A guilty expression on his face.

"I'm sorry, 'Mione," he amended quickly. "It's just so pretty. I had to touch it."She realized her mistake quickly because his eyes latched onto her lips instead, looking at them as though it were his last meal. He needed to be distracted and she was certainly going to make him regret taking that love potion.

"Fred," Hermione said, a plan forming in her mind. "You said you'd do anything for me, didn't you?" He nodded earnestly.

"Your happiness is all that I need."

"Good. Because I want you to do something for me."


	5. Chapter 5: Iridescent

"Granger, I have questions," Fred stated. He had numerous questions, if he was being honest. The last thing he remembered was sitting on his bed, taking the love potion. How he ended up in the library sitting beside Hermione Granger, knitting hats and scarves was beyond him.

"I suppose you do," she replied, not looking up from her book. She was sitting beside him in a chair, her eyes fluttering across the pages.

"I'm going to start with why I'm knitting," Fred decided, glancing at Hermione expectantly.

"You weren't going to leave me alone, so I put you to good use. I needed to finish the hats and scarves for the house elves. And you were very willing to do anything for me." Fred grimaced.

"So, it was your hair that George found?" Hermione shrugged, her eyes still trained on the book in front of her.

"If you mean that you've been in love with me for two hours, the answer is yes." Fred groaned. He knew he should have been the one to pick out the hair. It should have been anyone other than Granger. "Did you know that when questioned correctly, a love potion can essentially become a truth potion?" Fred groaned once more.

"What did I say?"

"So many things, Fred," Hermione said, finally closing her book and placing it in her bag. She had a determined look on her face mixed with an anger that was rarely pointed at him. "You never told Ginny and I that you were listening to our conversation last summer. Or that you were so opposed to the idea that you went out of your way to ensure that I would stop liking you. Oh yes, you told me all the gory details." Fred opened his mouth to refute, but Hermione wasn't finished. "I liked you because of what I saw the night of the Yule Ball and how loyal you were to your family. I liked you because you can make anyone laugh in any situation. And I admire that. And I think that's something we're all going to need now with V-Voldemort being back." Hermione sighed. "But be thankful Frederick Weasley. You got your wish. I don't like you. And I don't want to speak to you. Not now, not ever."

She scooped up her belongings, the hats and scarves Fred had made, and left the library, leaving Fred to stare after her in surprise and confusion and perhaps a hint of guilt.

Fred found George in the boys' dormitories when he finally returned. He knew it was childish, but he waited twenty minutes before leaving the library, giving Granger ample time to return to her dormitory. She was angry. And he honestly believed he deserved that anger.

The brothers stared at one another for a moment, Fred trying to find the right words to use. "Did you know–" he started.

"Yeah," George interrupted, knowing what Fred was going to ask. "Reckoned it would be good laugh." Fred glared at his brother.

"Well, Granger hates me now." He plopped down on his bed.

"But we know that the love potion works. Do you remember any of it?" Fred shook his head.

"When it wore off, I found myself knitting hats and scarves for spew. And then Granger told me how I had told her nearly everything about myself, starting with how we overheard her and Ginny's conversation over the summer. And how I've been actively trying to rid her from my life." George burst into laughter.

"It really was a good laugh." Fred promptly threw one of his pillows at George, which the git easily dodged.

"And where were you during all of this?"

"In the loo. I told you to wait here for me and Granger. When I came back you were gone, and Lee was wondering why you were acting so weird." Fred sighed.

"What am I going to do, Georgie?" Fred wanted to know. Granger was never going to forgive him after this. Somehow, it was worse that ridiculing her for her feelings. He had treated her like the plague because she was right. He was opposed to the idea without ever having considered it. He should have just treated her the way he always had. As Ron's friend.

"I don't see why you need to do anything," George told him. "Believe it or not, the world does not revolve around you and Granger. We have more important things to do. Like what we're getting Mum for Christmas. Is it wrong to regift one of our old presents?"

"She makes us the same sweater every year," Fred answered.

"Right. So because she spends all that time knitting them, it would be wrong to give them back to her?"

"Or you could just give her one of your old ones and tell her your helping her out for next year. She won't have to make Ginny's." George frowned for a moment as though were actually considering the idea. Finally, he shook his head.

"It'd never work and we'd never hear the end of it."

With the arrival of Christmas, thoughts of Hermione Granger were pushed from Fred's head. Well, for a little while. He spent the beginning of the break worrying over his father's life. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was absolutely terrified that his father was going to die. He wasn't sure how Harry knew about his dad, but he was thankful. Without Harry Potter's vision, this would have been a vastly different Christmas.

Once Fred was certain his dad was going to be alright, the break became less of hoping his father would live and more of avoiding Granger. She had appeared a few days before Christmas, explaining she wasn't spending her Christmas with her parents because she hated skiing.

Over the break, she didn't meet Fred's eyes once. It was as if he never existed to her. Somehow that was harder to swallow than her simply being angry with him. At least if she were holding a grudge, he'd exist to her. Now, he was just background.

One morning, he found her sitting alone in the library reading. He forced himself to gather the legendary Gryffindor bravery and enter the room. "Granger," he said quietly and cautiously, "I got to talk to you." He did his best to apologize, explicating that he didn't want to reject because she was Ron's friend. He didn't want to ruin that.

"Did you really think so little of me that you think I wouldn't be loyal to my friends because of you?" Fred nearly reminded her of how she betrayed her friends in third year just to prove she was right about the Firebolt, but he didn't. He didn't come to argue, only to apologize.

"I am sorry, Granger."

"I forgive you, Fred," she muttered reassuringly and returned quickly to her book. Somehow, Fred didn't feel any better.

Leaving the library, Fred found his dad standing in the hallway, waiting for him. Perhaps, this was where Fred and George learned how to eavesdrop. "Come with me, Fred," his father said kindly, walking stiffly towards the kitchen.

"Are you feeling better?" Fred asked, putting the kettle on knowing exactly what kind of tea his father wanted. Arthur Weasley just waved his son off.

"I didn't bring you here to talk about me, Fred. What happened between you and Hermione? Fred shrugged, refusing to meet his father's eyes.

"I may have trampled all over any feelings she had for me. Thankfully, she doesn't care for me anymore." Arthur was silent for a long time–long enough for Fred to finish the tea–choosing his next words carefully.

"Fred, some of us are dipped in flat, some in satin, some in gloss. But every once in a while, you find someone who's iridescent. And when you do, nothing will ever compare."

Flat, glossy, iridescent? What on earth was that supposed to mean? Hermione Granger had only ever seemed plain to Fred.

Until now.

The way she talked about S.P.E.W., like the house elves should be treated with respect due a human being. And the way she was constantly surprising everyone with her intellect, devoting herself to school so that no one could doubt muggle-borns were wise. And she was loyal. She was always going out of her way for Harry and Ron because she cared about them. Merlin, she even hated Quidditch, but she went to every single match because she was determined to support her team and friends. Who in all of Hogwarts was like Hermione Granger? Or, really, the entire world?

A weird feeling started taking over in the pit of his stomach. He didn't like it. But he knew it was just downhill from there.

* * *

"What exactly did you hear?" Hermione asked Fred quietly. He had a determined expression on his face as he worked on the hat before him. The moment she said something, he looked up, a dreamy smile plastered to his face. Hermione had quickly learned why love potions were extremely dangerous. But they were also creepy. She didn't like seeing Fred like this. It was like he couldn't think for himself. "When you and George listened to Ginny and I over the summer?"

Fred thought for a moment, as if trying to remember what was exactly said in the conversation. "Ginny and you were talking about how she liked Harry, but he likes Cho Chang. And then, Ginny asked if you still fancied her brother. George and I thought she was talking about Ron. But then you were talking about me and the Yule Ball. Merlin, 'Mione you looked fantastic that night. Don't suppose you have that dress still with you?" Hermione sighed. Another fact about love potions: people were easily distracted under it. Unfortunately, Fred still had more to stay. "Really, love, you were perfect that night. Best thing I've ever seen in my life. And that includes Umbridge being drenched the other day."

"Did you ever find out who did that?" Fred shook his head.

"Did you?" Hermione blushed a little. "Did you set off those Snitches, Hermione?" She nodded, refusing to meet Fred's eyes. "Merlin, you prank now? D'you know, that's a really attractive quality in a woman." He winked after that, moving towards her a little.

"How about you finish your work and then we'll talk?" Hermione suggested, moving further away from him.

For the two hours that Fred was under the potion, Hermione talked to him. It was the first, semi-honest conversation she'd had with him since the night of the Yule Ball. Too bad, really. He wasn't going to remember this conversation, she knew enough about love potions to know that.

She knew the minute the potion wore off. His hands stilled and he looked off into the distance, a frown on his face. Eventually, he looked down and confusion etched into his face as he took in what he was doing. Anger surged through Hermione instantly. She'd been waiting for this conversation. It wasn't enough that he couldn't return her feelings, he'd taken a love potion to ridicule them. Everything had to be a joke to him.

She returned to Gryffindor Tower as quickly as she could, afraid Fred was going to follow her. Grabbing Ginny's a hand, leading her up to Hermione's room. The moment they were away from the Common Room, Hermione explained what had happened. "I knew those Extendable Ears were going to be a problem," Ginny muttered. "I'm sorry. I thought Mum had raised them to be better than that." Hermione shrugged.

Somehow, it didn't really matter to Hermione. Fred had never truly been a friend to her. He never took her side about S.P.E.W. He constantly ridiculed her about being a prefect and doing well in school. And now, he had chosen to use her affections for him as a way to prove a product worked.

As she went to bed that night, she realized that it felt nice to no longer care about Fred Weasley.

Returning from Christmas, Hermione found herself diving deeper into her studies and the D.A. Still, things weren't great at Hogwarts. Umbridge was determined to gain order at the school. She was constantly watching Hagrid, treating him horribly just because he was a half-giant. Truly, Hagrid's methods of teaching weren't orthodox, but he sincerely loved what he was talking about, as a good professor should. He just wanted to share his love for magical creatures with the students. What's wrong with that?

Hermione also wanted to make things better for Harry. She knew it hurt him to talk about the night Cedric died. Really, people just needed to hear the truth. They needed some sort of resolution about that night. Keeping it all to himself was killing Harry and alienating everyone else. She just needed to find a way of ensuring everyone heard the story before Umbridge tried to crush their attempts.

All these thoughts were swirling around her head while she waited for Harry and Ron after one of the D.A. meetings. They were talking quietly to Fred and George about pranking Umbridge, something Hermione wanted absolutely no part of. Terry Boot, the Ravenclaw who had complimented her use of the Protean Charm, walked nervously over to her. "Hey, Hermione," he greeted. She smiled warmly at him.

"Hello, Terry," she replied. "Did you forget something?" Most everyone had left already. It was getting late and they had class in the morning. Terry rubbed the back of his neck.

"Erm, sort of," he said. "I-I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me in a few weeks." Hermione certainly hadn't been expecting him to ask her that. In her surprise, Hermione lost the ability to speak. A rare occurrence for her. "You don't have to answer right now," he rushed to say. "Just think about it and let me know?"

"Alright," Hermione replied after a moment's pause, "I'll think about it and let you know."

"Great!" exclaimed Terry. "I'll see you later." He hesitated for a moment–for what Hermione wasn't sure–before turning and leaving the room.

With a blush creeping up on her cheeks, Hermione turned to face her friends. Ron and George were laughing, Harry looked confused and Fred just looked annoyed. "Are you going to go with him, Hermione?" Ron managed to ask somehow through the laughter, walking over and swinging an arm around her shoulders. Hermione shrugged.

"I didn't even know he was going to ask me. We've only spoken twice before."

"Must have been really interesting conversations," muttered George. They spent the walk back to Gryffindor Tower teasing Hermione about her "date." And it didn't escape her notice that Fred was uncharacteristically silent.


	6. Chapter 6: Flipped

Fred was quiet. He'd been excited, ecstatic even, for George's idea of spiking Umbridge's food with Canary Creams. They were discussing it with Harry and Ron when suddenly, Fred had gone quiet.

He wouldn't say he'd been listening intentionally to Granger and Terry Boot's conversation. It just hadn't escaped Fred's notice that he'd wait until nearly everyone was gone to talk to her. Fred had been noticing Boot's inability to focus whenever Granger was around. Honestly, he hadn't expected the Ravenclaw to actually act on those feelings. But here he was, begging Granger to go out with him.

And Hermione looked like she was actually considering it.

How could she stand there, smiling and looking beautiful, and consider Boot's offer?

"I mucked it up, Georgie," Fred told him later that night. "I took too long to realize what was right in front of me."

"Reckon you did," George agreed. "But Freddie, we're leaving soon. Do you really want to try and fix it when we're going to be gone the moment we can?" Fred nodded.

"I have to try at least," Fred replied. "And I refuse to lose to Terry Boot of all people." George sighed.

"Alright, what are we going to do?"

* * *

Hermione did consider Terry's offer. Ginny had even urged her to take it. The truth remained that she needed to move on. She claimed that she no longer liked Fred, but in the face of an offer to Hogsmeade, Hermione hesitated. What was she waiting for anyway? Terry was nice. She was certain she would have a good time.

Still, there were more important things she needed to take care of. Harry and Hermione was set to meet with Rita Skeeter and Luna Lovegood at noon. Even if it was Valentine's Day, ensuring that the truth of what happened the night Cedric died was more important. And if Terry couldn't see that, well then, he could spend his day in Hogsmeade alone.

Fortunately, when Hermione explained it, Terry just smiled. "I don't mind working around that," he told her. "Perhaps, I could join you? I've been curious about what actually happened that night." Hermione knew this was a sentiment shared by most people in the Wizarding World. That was why this interview was so important.

Her date with Terry began promptly at eleven. They walked together through the snow to the Three Broomsticks because Hermione had wanted to get there early for the interview. Terry honestly didn't mind and they fell into pleasant conversation as they walked. It was good that she had insisted they arrive early, Hermione found quickly, as Luna and Rita were already there. She and Terry had only sat down for a moment before Harry had arrived, his date with Cho Chang clearly not going well.

After the interview had finished, Terry suggested they walk around Hogsmeade before they had to return to Hogwarts. They started at the bookstore, Terry discussing some of his favorite books and giving a rather lengthy explanation on why he liked fiction over non-fiction. Hermione stayed silent.

It was a strange phenomenon she was experiencing. Hermione spent most of her time wishing her friends would find appreciation for literature the way Hermione had. Now, she finally had someone she could talk to about it all, but honestly, she found the conversations to be dreadfully boring. He, like her, was far ahead in his homework, read nearly every book she had, and had even formed an opinion on the house elf issue (the wrong opinion by Hermione's standards.) There was no intrigue in the conversations. Sure, this is what she had thought she wanted. But it wasn't until they were back at Hogwarts that Hermione realized she had not laughed once in the entire day. She supposed Terry would always be comfortable. But having spent her time in Gryffindor Tower for five years, between Weasleys and Harry's ever constant battle with Voldemort, she learned it was good to have someone push her out of her comfort zone. Terry would never be able to do that for her.

"I had a good time today," he said, walking her to the entrance of the school. She smiled kindly to him.

"I'm glad we did this," she told him honestly. "I'll see you around, Terry."

She turned and made her way to Gryffindor Tower, ready to curl up with a book.

When she entered the Tower, she immediately knew something was happening. Fred was standing in front of everyone proclaiming something loudly, probably a new product of theirs. Meanwhile, George and Lee were circulating the room, passing out what looked to be badges.

As she drew closer, she was able to discern what he was saying. She was nearly certain she had heard him wrong. He was talking about house elves.

"Now, listen!" Fred said loudly. "Think about it. Who cooks our food, cleans Gryffindor Tower, and doesn't ask for anything in return? I'll tell you, your common house elf. D'you know what? House elf magic also works differently than our own. Not one of us can Apparate within Hogwarts, but those little blighters do it all day long. They're powerful when they want to be. And if that doesn't make you want to join, I'll tell you this: Dolores Umbridge, that mad woman the Ministry sent us, hates house elves. So, not joining means you have something in common with that woman." Nearly everyone in Gryffindor Tower bought a badge following that statement.

Overcoming her initial shock, Hermione started making her way to Fred, but Angelina Johnson got to him first. While Hermione waited for their conversation to finish, George walked by. "Reckon you don't need one of these," he murmured joyfully.

"George, what is all of this?"

"Fred's idea," he replied. "Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes officially endorses S.P.E.W."

"B-but why?"

"Because you're right," a familiar voice interjected. Fred walked over to her, a sheepish look on his face. George smirked and wandered away. "Slavery is wrong and I'm sorry for insulting the idea in the first place." He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for a lot of things, Hermione."

The smile Fred gave her made her heart beat a little faster and she was reminded briefly of why she had fancied him in the first place. "You got them all to buy a badge?"

"It's all in how you market it," he explained, a smirk etched on his face. As she pushed a strand of hair out of her face, Fred recalled the conversation he had heard over the summer. How could he have not seized the opportunity to snog her senseless then? Why couldn't he see that here was no one in the world like Hermione Granger? His father was right. She was utterly iridescent.

"Did you do this for the suffering house elves or for me?" Hermione questioned. Fred took a step closer to her.

"Why does it have to be an option?" he returned. "Why can't it be for both?" Hermione didn't have an answer for that. "Did you have a good time on your date today, Granger? Because I'm seriously thinking about kissing you and I need to know if Terry Boot is going to hex me tomorrow."

And there, in front of the large crowd of Gryffindors that Hermione had long forgotten about, she pressed her lips to Fred Weasley's. Fred returned the kiss, drawing the girl closer to himself until the applause and cheers reminded Hermione and Fred they weren't alone. Loudly, and without a hint of embarrassment, Fred said, "C'mon, Granger. You can show me this magical land that you call the library."

A flushed, embarrassed Granger led the way out of Gryffindor Tower. But they barely passed one corridor before Fred drew her back into his arms, kissing her soundly. Hermione was grateful for the brief respite Fred gave her. With him, she could laugh and forget the war looming over them. She could forget about the D.A. and Umbridge. Here, it was just her and Fred. And that was enough.

That was until Umbridge found them and promptly gave them detention.


	7. Epilogue

"And that boys is why you always listen to other people's conversation," Fred summarized. His sons were looking at him intently, utterly enthralled by the story he had just told them. He'd learned early on how much his boys liked hearing stories from their dad's life. He carefully chose this one, as this was a story that was very dear to him. Or, at least, that's what he claimed. Really, he'd just heard Hermione telling the story to their daughters and reckoned that'd be a good story for his sons as well.

"Mum pranked a professor?" Arthur said, an eyebrow raised. "I think you're exaggerating a bit, Dad." At eleven years old, Arthur knew his mother well enough to know how unlikely this was. The boy would be off to Hogwarts in a month and Fred knew how much he was going to miss his son. Thankfully, Arthur promised to cause as much mayhem as he could without Hermione finding out.

"She did," insisted Fred. "She was that gone for me."

"I thought Mum said it's wrong to listen the other people's talks," George interjected. The seven year old had a confused expression on his face, like he was genuinely trying to understand the different pieces of information he'd been given.

In all honesty, Fred believed he lucked out when they named their children. When he learned that Hermione was first pregnant, Fred insisted they name the boy after his father. He truly believed there was no greater man on earth. He wanted to honor his father in this way, hoping to express the love Fred held for his father. (When Arthur Weasley heard this, he cried with gratitude.) Hermione compromised with him on this, claiming that since Fred chose the first name, she could choose the middle. Which ended up making Arthur named after both of his grandfathers.

Rose came two years later. Fred and Hermione compromised here, too. Hermione would choose the first name and Fred would choose the middle. The redheaded girl was inevitably named Rose Molly Weasley. (Though, Fred usually called her Molly Rose because he thought it flowed better.)

Two years later, Hermione had the twins. Choosing not to deviate from their pattern, Fred named their daughter, the older twin, Minerva. He'd mostly chosen the name because he hoped desperately that she would be a troublemaker. He reckoned Minerva McGonagall would have a hard time punishing the child named after her. Seven years later, and Minnie was more obviously like Hermione than Fred. Thankfully, he still had a few years before she went off to Hogwarts.

Georgie was the younger of the twins and was only named George because Hermione overheard a conversation between Fred and George. George had been wondering when he was going to get a nephews named after him. Hermione was supposed to be asleep, recovering from the hours in labor, but she wanted to hear what Fred was going to say. "Well," Fred said, quietly, not wanting to disturb his wife, "Hermione's pretty set on Hugo. And Hugo George just sounds terrible. Now, Hugo Thunderfist Weasley would be a great name."

"We could call him Thunder for short," agreed George. In the end, Hermione promised to name their son George, as long as Fred promised not to make the kid's middle name Thunderfist. Fred, naturally, took the deal.

"Yes, well," Fred said in reply to Georgie's confusion, "Mum's right about most things." This obviously didn't help the child in the least. "It's time for bed," Fred told them. Georgie climbed into his bed, throwing his covers over him. Arthur stood up from his spot on the ground.

"Night, Dad," he said. "Night, Georgie."

"G'night," replied Georgie.

"Good night, Arthur," Fred said affectionately, rumpling his son's hair a bit.

"Thanks for the story, Dad." Arthur murmured before exiting the room, going to his room down the hall.

Fred turned to his other son, who was already half asleep. "G'night, Georgie."

"Night, Dad," he mumbled. Fred pressed a loving kiss to Georgie's forehead, turned off the lights, and left the room. He made his way down to the kitchen. Telling stories to his sons at night was one of the things Fred looked forward to every day. But he could feel time starting to run out. Arthur was off to Hogwarts soon. And in four years, every single one of his children would be gone, learning how to use their magic. How on earth had his mother and father done this seven times?

Fred took a deep breath and forced himself to think of something else. He still had a month and he was determined to use up every opportunity he had. Knowing Hermione would be down in a moment, Fred put the kettle on.

* * *

"And that girls, is why you always give someone a second chance," Hermione explained, effectively finishing the story. Rose and Minnie had listened to this story with rapt attention, hanging on to every word she uttered.

"So, you and Dad flipped," Rose summarized. "You fancied him first and he didn't fancy you. And then, you didn't fancy him and he fancied you." Hermione nodded.

"I liked that story!" exclaimed Minnie. Hermione was glad, she quite liked that story, too.

"Are all professors at Hogwarts mean like that woman?" Rose asked genuinely.

"No, and she's gone now. All the professors are kind like Uncle Neville." Rose took a deep breath of relief. The girl still had two years before Hogwarts, but she was using up every opportunity she had to prepare herself. The other day, Hermione had found her sitting in the living room, reading one of Hermione's old potion books. "And, now, it's time for you to go to bed."

"Can't we hear just one more story?" Minnie pleaded. Hermione shook her head.

"Tomorrow you may. But for tonight, it's time to sleep." Rose and Minnie climbed into their beds, muttering "good night."

When Hermione entered the kitchen, her husband was already there, pouring tea in a mug for her. "What story did you tell tonight?" she asked. He smiled to her, handed her the tea, and took a seat at the small kitchen table. Hermione sat next to him.

"Just a story about a boy overhearing a girl's conversation one night."

"You have to stop copying the stories I'm telling," she said with an exasperated sigh.

"Why?" Fred questioned. "It seems to be working pretty well so far." Fred was quiet for a moment, returning to the thoughts he'd been absorbed in before Hermione arrived.

"Fred?" He sighed.

"Love, I've been thinking. What if we were to have another kid?" Hermione, unfortunately, had been taking a sip of her tea at the moment and consequently began to choke at Fred's admission. Once she stopped coughing, she scrutinized her husband.

"Are you saying this because you realized this house is going to be utterly silent in four years or because you really want another child?" Fred paused for a moment, and Hermione seized the opportunity to take his hand. "If you really want another child, then we'll talk. But if this is because Arthur's going to Hogwarts, then I have to remind you that if we had another child, we'd be in the same predicament in eleven years."

"Yes, but I'm assuming the ones we have now will just come back here after Hogwarts." He pressed a kiss to Hermione's hand. "D'you know what I realized about that story?"

"What?"

"We never really talked before all of that. We acknowledged each other's presence."

"Well, we talk now."

"True. And we've been talking for a long time since." And though Hermione didn't say it, she knew they'd still be talking for a long time to come. And all because Fred Weasley had listened to one conversation many years ago.


End file.
